Archive for July 30th, 2013

I've posted in the past about how various medical conditions can simulate symptoms of intoxication and even cause falsely high breathalyzer readings. One of the more common of these conditions is diabetes, which produces a chemical compound that registers as alcohol on breathalyzers. See Diabetes and the Counterfeit DUI and Drunk Driver…or Diabetic? To make matters worse, a person having a diabetic attack can appear to be intoxicated. See Another Drunk?..or a Diabetic?

The following TV news broadcast and video is a disturbing example of law enforcement's ignorance in this area — and an indictment of their often violent procedures in DUI cases.

Dash-Cam Video Shows Woman's Arrest During Diabetic Episode

Santa Fe. NM. July 19 — Shocking dash camera footage shows a diabetic woman being dragged out of her car by Santa Fe County sheriff deputies, all while she was having a diabetic episode.

Even more alarming she's just left handcuffed on the pavement.

Right now, the sheriff said some things should have been done differently and he takes the matter seriously.

In the video, deputies yank Revina Garcia out of her car. She had just been in a car accident after having a severe diabetic attack and is completely limp.

"I was just lost, I was just lost," Garcia said.

After the slamming into the back of a truck, Garcia said she couldn’t open the door.

"I just didn't know how to open the door," Garcia said.

A deputy shattered Garcia’s car window and pulled her out of the car. Garcia was then thrown on the street face down and handcuffed.

"In this case there was no resistance. We are looking at that very seriously," Santa Fe County Sheriff Robert Garcia said.

With Garcia's face on the ground and her not moving at all, deputies walk away. Garcia said her blood sugar was so low that she could have gone into a coma.

"What concerns me is there is no need to lay someone on the ground for that amount of time. There were other deputies around that could have assisted in at least sitting her up or having her placed in a cruiser," said the sheriff.

Garcia was face down on the pavement for more than a minute, and the Sheriff says he's going to look into just how hot it was that day and how hot that pavement could have been.

The video shows deputies finally taking Garcia to the police car.

"I'm surprised I didn't go into a coma in the back of that police car," Garcia said.

After 10 minutes, paramedics arrived and Garcia was treated for the diabetic episode.

The sheriff said this incident will bring awareness and training to make sure this never happens again. Right now, there's an internal review of Revina Garcia's arrest.

The sheriff plans on meeting with the Garcia family to discuss ways law enforcement can improve and make sure medical issues are considered at each scene and treated properly.

At least the Sheriff didn't try to cover this one up. Of course, there's that video…